So we have tried a lot of great products that work for keto and some that are a bit meh — so here is running list (because we update it all the time) of some of our faves.
ALMOND FLOUR
At some point you will want to bake something and a lot of recipes will call for Almond Flour. You can use coconut flour for some or for some of the flour but usually if a recipe calls for almond flour, you cannot just sub anything else in. If you live somewhere that you cannot find almond flour, you can buy plain, unsalted almonds, then blanch them if they have skins, and run them through the food processor a few times. (And you will need to do it at least 2-3 times until you get a fine flour, it will not be as smooth as regular flour but it should have no larger pieces.
COCONUT FLOUR
You may or may not need coconut flour. I prefer to sub out some of the almond flour for coconut flour because it makes for lighter tasting things. So cookies with just almond flour will seem heavier (at least to me) and you will get a bit more fluffy texture with coconut flour but you can only sub out some of it so you may not need coconut flour and if you do, you won’t need much. I would wait until you have a recipe that calls for it to buy it to save some money.
MCT OIL
If you are going to make bulletproof coffee or want to take MCT oil to help you with your keto experience, you will need an MCT oil. If you are on a budget and you do not plan to drink bulletproof coffee, you may not need it. I tried several MCT oils before I just caved in and bought the bulletproof one because it is (in my opinion) the best one. It is all C8 and it is tasteless and it doesn’t get my acid reflux kicking. Some of the cheaper ones I tried either tasted like coconut which may or may not be great (mostly I didn’t want coffee tasting like coconut) and they made me feel acid in my stomach which I am not a fan so for me, this is BulletProof Brain Octane Fuel or nothing because it is the only one that actually made me feel better.
KETO CRACKER ALTERNATIVE
Crackers are now on your no-go list and personally I love crackers. I like them with protein salad (like tuna or chicken or egg salad or ham salad) I like them with guacamole since I can no longer have nachos and I like them with cheese. Some of the cracker things you can have will be usually harder but also more satisfying than a cracker as they are mostly cheese usually so Whisps, FBomb Keto Crunch and Parmesan Crisps are all great choices for those times when you really need a cracker and for those times when you really need more of a chip than a heavier cracker, there are some good chip alternatives (like Quest tortilla chips) that work great on their own or with things like guacamole. Stay tuned for my super simple, yet awesome, guacamole recipe on our recipe page.
SWEETENER
Sure, you will say you don’t need a sweetener but the reality is most people do. Some use stevia but I find stevia is awful tasting. It has a terrible aftertaste and it doesn’t make baked goods taste yummy at all. Sure there is somebody who likes it but I think they are tolerating more than liking it. Let’s be honest, you can get by with it but the whole idea of sweetener is to enjoy yourself and have a treat so something gross like stevia is not going to work for most people and even if you like it in your coffee, I doubt you will be able to bake with it. Personally if there were nothing else, I would skip it because I hate stevia that much. And I have grown it in my garden and tried it. Also, if you buy it in the store, Stevia has a ton of chemicals used in the process so it isn’t some super healthy thing – unless you do actually get it from your garden and make a syrup from that.
There are MUCH better alternatives to stevia and sugar in my opinion that are now available. One is monk fruit (do not buy “monk fruit in the raw” as that is monk fruit and sugar so it has calories and carbs) Another great sweetener is erythritol. Swerve is a brand and it comes in granular (like regular sugar) as well as brown (to replace brown sugar in baked goods, don’t try to eat it straight you will be disappointed. Not sure why anyone would but I have actually seen people bitching in the Amazon comments about it when they ate it with a spoon so bake with it where you would use brown sugar) and it comes in powder for things like icing (you probably should only use this when it calls for confectioners sugar or powdered sugar as it has a weird texture for things like coffee. The regular granular Swerve is excellent for coffee and baking and using anywhere you would use sugar.
A GO-TO KETO SNACK
For some people, this is Quest bars (I am not a super fan, they have an aftertaste to me) I love a ton of Quest products but not their bars at all. But their cookies and their chips are great! Quest chips are crazy yummy and crunchy. I love all things Bulletproof and I really wanted to like their bars but they have a weird aftertaste to me so not a big fan there but if you want to try one, you can buy them individually at Publix and a lot of stores so give them a try but I would try just one before I bought a case as I was not a fan. They will have great ingredients and be super high quality like all things bulletproof but to me, they had an odd “protein bar of the 1990s” aftertaste and a weird mouth feel. And trust me, I really wanted to like them.
The ideal snack is something that is easy on your macros (so good fat and some protein and very light on carbs) and also tastes great and something that you can eat just a bit and not go overboard on. Nuts make a great snack for some people because some of them (pecans, almonds) are very keto friendly BUT for some people, they overeat them. If you cannot eat just a few, then they are not a great snack for you because you will eat too many. Sometimes having something pre-packaged is a good idea if you will overeat it. So find a good snack that works for you so you stay on track.
CONDIMENTS
What are you going to mix that Tuna with or that chicken or that old fashioned ham salad. Well, for me, I use the same source for where I learned about how to make ham salad and that is Grandma. Both of my grandmothers passed away a long time ago but I am loving going back through their recipe books and finding out that OMG, they have great Keto things in there. Be sure to check back for my blog for my Grandma’s great mayo recipe. If you want a great store-bought mayo, check out Primal Kitchen because they have a couple of really great ones and their chipotle lime one makes an amazing chicken salad. Just buy a small bottle because some people find the texture weird being from avocado oil and they are expensive so I really liked them but just in case, you don’t want a ton of them in your fridge if you don’t like them.
There are other condiments that will make your journey great. For me I like blue cheese dressing and I have found the lowest carbs are in the refrigerated ones in the produce section like Litehouse. A lot of people don’t like mustard but that is a great Keto condiment — zero carbs as long as you are not eating flavors like honey mustard. Check your labels. For some people they need hot sauce and a lot of hot sauce brands are zero carbs. Some people go right to Walden Farms because it is calorie free and carb free BUT I have never found anything made by Walden Farms that I liked. My husband likes a whole bunch of their items and you can find them usually in diet food section or produce department of most grocery stores but for me, they are a no-go. The chocolate syrup does not taste at all like chocolate, the pancake syrup is super runny and bland with a fake taste, the salad dressings are all meh. I would rather skip them altogether but you will see some people totally swear by them!!
There are some really awesome Keto friendly syrups and spreads to make your pancakes, waffles and coffee really super yummy. Most of these are not strict keto but neither is my site and neither am I so you have been warned – lol. These are all great. Jordan Skinny syrup for coffee and cocktails is awesome but hard to find. It is mostly at discount stores like Marshalls, TJMaxx, Tuesday Morning but even at those, it can be hit and miss on whether it is in stock and what the flavors are. But if you can find it, it is zero calories and zero carbs and super budget friendly at usually 3 bucks for a big bottle. Torani is more available but make sure you are buying sugar free as it also comes in sugar and the label is all blue for the sugar free but be sure to double check. Torani is easily found on Amazon but I also have found it at Home Goods and Marshalls for half the price of Amazon so if you are on a budget and live close to a lot of stores, stop in to one and save.
NOODLES
I think a lot of us grew up with too many noodles!! It seems to be something that we all miss greatly. There are some alternatives and some will give your more of a noodle experience than others. First is zoodles and all sorts of spiraled vegetables. You can do these yourself or many grocery stores will have these in the produce area and they are also available frozen (although I am not really a fan of any frozen ones I have tried. You can spiral them yourself with a variety of kitchen tools and depending on time and how busy you are, this may be all you need.
There are also Shirataki Noodles (also known as zero noodles, miracle noodles, etc) These are konjac root noodles and they have no calories and are all fiber. They have a weird smell so be sure to rinse the living daylights out of them. And then they may still not be to your liking. They actually work really well in Asian dishes calling for noodles and seem to support Asian sauces better than they do Italian style sauces and dishes. Just a personal opinion but they are actually pretty good if you make a strong Asian style sauce and of course, rinse the hell out of them before you start cooking.
One of my more recent finds is Palmini noodles. These are heart of palm and they also have a weird smell so again, rinse and ideally, soak them. The can says you can soak them in milk for more removal of weird smell but since I haven’t had milk in the house for over 20 years, I used Almond Milk and it worked great. Since they come in a can, they rinse well and easily and then I just dumped them in a bowl and added some almond milk (not a ton, like half a glass) and let them soak for 20 minutes or so and then rinsed again. They have always turned out great and they support all kinds of Italian style sauces so if you are craving anything from Spaghetti and Meatballs to Fettuccine, this will be a better noodle for that – at least that is my personal opinion 🙂 These are available on Amazon in a case but they are less than $3 a can at Publix so regardless of where you live, it is worth a check at the grocery store to see if they carry them. They were in the dry
goods aisle by all the noodles and they are a can (and at the grocery store – you can buy just one can)
FAT BOMBS
These are a GREAT idea especially when you first start Keto because it can be hard to not be hungry and it might feel weird to add straight up butter or oil to things until you get used to it. There are a zillion recipes for these online and I have only tried a couple so you will have to try a few yourself because I have not found one that I cannot live without. There are also some great ready made ones and I did find a few of these are really good, especially when traveling because you can have a few when you are hungry and are somewhere that there are no keto options (like at a truck stop or the airport!) so having a bag or two of these in your bag can really help. The FBomb Keto Crunch tastes like cheese straws that Moms used to make when I was a kid so I like that real cheese taste. So if you are finding yourself hungry, eat more fat and control that hunger.